For a variety of reasons, people want or need to support objects on surfaces such as walls, windows, mirrors, and the surfaces of furniture and equipment. For some surfaces, attachment can be made using such well known connection devices as nails, screws, and other piercing type connectors. However, it is often undesirable or impossible to pierce the surface onto which connection is desired. For example, nails should not be driven into a glass surface. A magnetic connector may be used to connect to a metallic surface but does not work for non-metallic surfaces. Adhesives can also be used with some surfaces but tend to degrade the surface on which they are used.
Suction cups, such as shown in FIG. 1, are popular for attaching to smooth surfaces such as glass or metal. In its simplest form, as shown in FIG. 1, a suction cup 10 consists of a deformable concave body 12 with a perimeter lip 14. The suction cup 10 is pushed against a support surface, such as a piece of glass, so that the perimeter lip 14 contacts the support surface and the rest of the body 12 is deformed towards the support surface. When the suction cup 10 is released, the body 12 attempts to regain its concave shape and thereby forms a suction between the support surface and the underside of the body 12. Other items, such as a hook 16 can then be attached to the suction cup 10 and supported thereby. A drawback to simple suction cup devices, such as the one shown in FIG. 1, is that they often do not remain securely attached to a support surface. The suction cup 10 relies on the resilience of the deformable body 12 to create and maintain suction. Typically, such a suction cup does not create very much suction, and therefore is not very strongly attached to the support surface. In addition, the lip 14 may leak slightly causing degradation of the suction.
An improved suction cup is shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. This suction cup 20 includes a cup-shaped outer housing 22 and an inner member 26 which is fitted to the outer housing 22. The inner member 26 includes a deformable element 28 with a perimeter lip 29 for contacting a support surface. A post 30 extends upwardly from the deformable element 28 and passes through the outer housing 22 and includes a pivot point 32. The suction cup 20 also includes a hook 34 which has a pivot end 36 and a hook end 38. The pivot end 36 of the hook 34 is pivotally interconnected with pivot point 32 of the post 30.
The suction cup 20 has two positions. The first is an unlocked position, as shown in FIG. 2, wherein the hook 34 extends generally outwardly from the outer housing 22. This is a non-use position for the suction cup 20. The second position is a locked position, as shown in FIG. 3. In this position, the hook 34 is pivoted downwardly so that it lies next to the outer housing 22. As the hook 34 is pivoted downwardly, it pulls the post 30 of the inner member 26 upwardly. This in turn pulls the deformable element 28 upwardly into the outer housing 22.
In use, the suction cup 20 is placed against a support surface, such as a piece of glass, so that the deformable element 28 is in contact with the support surface, with the suction cup 20 in its unlocked position, as shown in FIG. 2. The hook 34 is then pivoted downwardly, moving the suction cup 20 to its locked position as shown in FIG. 3, thereby drawing the post 30 away from the support surface. This deforms the deformable element 28 creating a suction between deformable element 28 and the support surface.
The improved suction cup 20 engages to the support surface much more securely than the suction cup 10 shown in FIG. 1. This is for two reasons. First, the deformable element 28 is physically forced away from the support surface, thereby creating a large amount of suction. Secondly, the larger amount of suction causes the outer housing 22 to push the perimeter of the deformable element 28 securely against the support surface, thereby improving the seal between the lip 29 and the support surface. After the suction cup 20 is secured to the support surface, an item such as a hand towel or car keys may be hung from the hook 38. A major drawback to the suction cup 20 is that it is not a universal connector. Instead, it provides only a hook 38 on which items may be hung. There is a need for an easily attachable and detachable suction type device which provides a universal connector so that a variety of items may be attached to a support surface.